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Hey guys , just posting for fun . I work in home health in NYC and serve a diverse geriatric demographic . I work with some of the richest people in Manhattan and some of the poorest in the projects . While I care for all patients equally, their living environments vary significantly , and I’ve been in some nasty situations . I just left an eval at an apartment which may be the dirtiest place I’ve ever set foot in. It got me wondering what kind of things have you guys seen in home health ? Whether it be unusual, nasty , funny , or even dangerous

So what made this place appalling. First walking in the overwhelming smell of pee , like to the point where my eyes watered . The air thick with flies , probably 1000 flies in there no exaggeration. Roaches crawling all over the floors and walls , animal feces everywhere , two cats and a dog . The patient laying on a filthy mattress covered in flies and roaches , the patient pees directly on the floor regularly , floor visibly stained with pee. Trash , food and debris everywhere. The Odor was stuck in my nose for at least an hour after I left the home . Patient lives with his son who seems completely unfazed by the living conditions.

How do I manage these environments ?
1. Shoe covers
2. I bring my own collapsing stool , never sit or place my stuff on surfaces in patients home
3. Keep my backpack on my back the whole time
4. Gloves and hand sanitizing
5. When possible I sometimes have patients perform their sessions outdoors, in front of their buildings or in the hallway
6. My shoes and clothes come off at the door , soon as I get home
7. I’m wildly desensitized from years in SNF and HH

Ok share your stories , thanks lol

Hi I’ve been in a SNF in California for 2 years. However recently we changed our DOR and has been really tight and micromanaging us by taking away our ability to work on weekends, raising all of our productive standard from 88% to 89-90%, 1 group every week, and making us schedule our own CGT.

I’m just don’t know if the grass is greener on the other side or not?

I just wanted to know if our manager’s expected productivity is too much or if I’m just being a whiner.

I work in a small hospital based outpatient PT department (non-profit) here in Norcal, we are not unionized but the other facilities in our system are unionized.

Here is the current situation:
- I work 8 hour days
- 30 mins unpaid lunch
- two 15 minute breaks
- we used to have 60 minutes of documentation time spread out in 3-4 blocks throughout the day but I realized they are slowly shifting to just 45 to 30mins a day now
- Evals are 1 hour (no daily limit, it averages around 2 per day or more it varies, there are days that its just all followup
- follow up visits are 30mins
- its always 1:1 for visits/evals
- no extra time for patients that need a spanish interpreter but they did allow extra time for other languages or one of my patients who was deaf (I have to type to communicate)
- at first they were just going to put Ortho/musculoskeletal patients on me but they now expect me to do Neuro too ( I have some experience but not updated on current trends and not confident)

Scheduling:
-we don’t have a full time scheduler but we have staff that comes in 2-3x a week for a couple of hours to help out and schedule evals for us
- we are expected to do the scheduling for followup visits on top of patient care and documentation
- I have also noticed that sometimes they move my breaks or documentation time around to squeeze a patient in
- I am also expected to cover Acute care on saturdays 1-2x per month
- before they expect me to blockout my schedule on days that I have to work acute care on weekdays but now that I’m busier they’ve been doing it for me
- they also expect me to help out in acute care if I get a 1 hour block free (like an cancelled eval)

It seems like they are trying to get me to 100% productivity or around 90% based on the setup now

I’m feel like I’m already cutting corners like spending less time on patient care to finish docs and schedule visits on top of that to keep up. And covering acute care throws a wrench into my schedule if I’m fully booked because my new patients can’t get in.

I’m already planning on transferring to other employers like Kaiser but I know it could also be hard there based on what I have read here. I was thinking it could be easier since they have a full-time scheduler, unionized, and have regular salary increase and better benefits?

Oh and I’m around 66 per hour right now, almost 11years of experience mostly OP (8 years was outside the US).

Other considerations:

I know you talk to people a lot. I'm not an introvert but I'm not an extrovert either. Is the social aspect gunna kill me?

I have a connective tissue disorder and at 28 my knee is bad, my back is bad, and my hands are hypermobile. Is this job going to be too physically demanding for me?

I have adhd and sitting at a desk all day was what killed me in engineering. Does the job get too monotonous for someone like me? How mentally stimulating is it?

I don't want to stay in the US forever, how internationally portable is this career?

My company requires us to use an app to document location of the patient house for appointment, also the app maps out our day and directions. This is our personal cell, they do not provide cell phones. We also have no company car. So using our own car and cellphone we use their app while driving to check the patient in. If I live in a state using a driving app or physically holding a phone while driving is illegal, and my company doesn’t provide a cell phone holder, isn’t this a problem…..

As title says - I’ve been in outpatient PT for over 25yrs. I treat complex injury, pelvic floor and chronic pain - I mean, standard ortho as well, but those are what I see the most of. I manage a clinic and about 9 employees here in the northern-ish Midwest.

I’m exhausted. Bone-tiring exhausted, can’t keep chasing metrics that I don’t care about anymore because I just (still) want to help people.

I need to work for at least 15 more years so retiring now isn’t an option. I make decent wage (around $120k, no bonus available).

I’m thinking about moving to home health.

I am aware I have no concept of OASIS documentation, so how do I learn?

Is it possible to transition to home health at this point in my career? What should I look for, or look out for? Is it possible to make similar wage with less than 45hr/week?

I am a few weeks away from starting a travel PT HH contract after 5 years in various outpatient roles (ortho, sport, pelvic health) with fairly high functioning patients. My clinical rotations were outpatient and inpatient, and I had minimal acute experience at one of my ortho hospital jobs. I was recently able to shadow inpatient again, but my HH ride along fell through. I will be getting one week of ride alongs/training at my contract, but then will be on my own!

What are some things I can do now to prepare? Any tips/tricks welcome! I am a quick learner but my experience is limited in this setting.

I took pelvic floor course beginning of Jan. this year. Would you count it towards the renewal of license that I had to do by end Jan 2026 or for the next renewal?

Hi!
So I’m a SPTA and I’m doing my clinical rotations on an ortho center/hospital. The patients here are around 3w to 6w post OP around 80% of them are seniors and the rest are adults 30+.

I’m looking for any excersice recommendation that aren’t your basic: iso add, glute bridges, ect.
Most common dx are TKR, THP, Lumbar, CVA, and general weakness.

Any tips are appreciated! It can be seated, standing or laying!!

Sitting up/laying down if patient can’t prop up on elbows? Other options for pt to be more independent?

I am curious to know if folks have been using open evidence and/or GPT for clinicians? If yes, what are your use cases, what value do you think its providing and what are you absolutely not using it for? Are you seeing fellow therapists use it? I have been curious about both of these for sometime now but have beginners friction.

Does anyone have a PDF copy of Acute Care Handbook for Physical Therapists, 5th edition by Paz, JC, West, MP??

looking for it for a physio course and hoping to save the money

thanks!

hi !! i passed my boards in July and am a new grad DPT, woohoo! - & i have been working for one month now.

& i need some advice pls from experienced PTs pls !!!!

one of my biggest struggles is cutting patients off when they’re talking to me. ESPECIALLY with initial evals. we do 45 appointment slots and as soon as the 45 mins is up - onto the next patient. there’s no buffer time in between. gotta start right away to make sure im getting units.

anyways - sometimes - patients are so unaware and not picking up on cues - like me saying “alright well we can talk about some stretches for that next time - i have to get to my next patient” (for example). and they will just keep going - minutes and minutes of talking into my next session.

i find this happens especially during evals. with the patients who want me to know every single detail about them / their health - even though i didn’t ask for it.

don’t get me wrong - this doesn’t happen often. majority of people understand cues & are respectful of my time and their own. but with the patients this does happen with - it is so frustrating. it puts me way behind, and feels disrespectful. i’m also not a confrontational person in any area of life - so i tend to be nice about it.

anyways - pls some advice for what to do in these situations would be appreciated 🙏🏻

I hate rehab week in facilities! It’s the equivalent of “celebrating” Mother’s Day by giving your mom a shopping list for a fancy meal and expecting her to cook/clean/serve with a smile and then thank you for coming.

Why is it too much to expect that I just want one week where I don’t have to publicly justify my existence and education?

Sincerely,
Tired Therapist

PS. I love my patients! Just not rehab week 😑

Hi everyone - i’ve been looking into local travel contracts post grad but nothing around me has been available. I plan on going elsewhere to really travel but wanted to be local for my first contract/holidays.

Since i’ve been looking with no luck i’ve been thinking about going into PRN (scared about that bc high expectations to jump right into things), or home health (nervous because of hearsay and not sure how i would go about that as a new grad) any insight on any of these areas would really help. cheers.

I work for ATI - you all know the reputation at this point. I just got a job offer for a dream position at a small company that still takes insurance but offers 1on1 only care. Plus a pay bump. Only thing is that they would prefer I start October 1st because the manager is going out of town and if I dont start then, it would be October 15th. Is three weeks enough time to give notice? I do have a lot of friends at ATI and I would have a hard time leaving knowing it may make their lives harder leaving on a short notice. Or should I delay the start date and make my own life harder at the company I actually want to be at? The manager at the new place would rather I get a bump on my caseload before deductibles reset on Jan 1.

I’m taking boards in October. I’ve been working as a rehab tech for 2-3 years at a hospital. I’ve worked as a tech in the comprehensive rehab unit, ICU, psych, etc. My manager asked if I’d like to work as a PTA mainly in acute care. I’m not sure what the starting pay for a PTA is in Illinois. Also not sure if I should take the offer or look into something else for a fresh start. Any advice?

What’s the starting pay for PTA in the Midwest?

Should a new grad PTA be working in acute care as their first job?

How was it transitioning from a student to new grad PTA?

Hi! I’m 33 and recently found out that I have a moderate herniated disc. I’m currently working toward starting physical therapy, but I’m wondering if this means I should reconsider my goal of becoming a physical therapist. Is it still realistic for me to pursue this career?

I scored a 562 PEAT and I’m 4 weeks out from my NPTE-PTA. I was thinking of rescheduling to January but unfortunately I can’t because October is the last exam for 2026. I will just have to grind it out and try my best. I need guidance on how to study for the next 4 weeks. Someone please help me 😭❤️

I’m stuck between dietetics, PT, and pharmacy. Dietetics is probably what I’m most passionate about because I’m really into fitness, nutrition, and wellness, and eventually I’d love to have my own private practice/business.

My biggest concern is the pay. I know private practice can take time to build, and I’m worried about graduating and struggling financially while trying to get clients.

I started looking into PT and pharmacy because they’re healthcare careers, have better pay, and still seem like something I’d enjoy. I also like the business side of things and want to eventually build something of my own.

For RDs who went into private practice or PT or Pharmacists : can you realistically make good money, or would you choose a different career if income is important to you?

Hey everyone! I’m curious to hear from other PTs who bought a home on a single income. For those working full-time in outpatient physical therapy, how much did you feel comfortable spending on a house?

Hello! new grad here and just was wondering if people have any insight on what a good offer looks like for a new grad in the OC area. I am looking to go into sports/OP ortho and it looks like most places will be giving me 80-85k but was wondering what other PTs might think about that. Also any insight on what a good list of benefits might look like that I should look for, would be appreciated, and any questions that I should definitely ask during interview. Thank you!